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Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) took a hit on its stock this week despite reporting earnings that were not as bad as expected. OK> so the overall sales numbers were way down, but the Windows Phone-based, high-end Lumia smartphones saw a decent jump in sales and the company narrowed its losses to less than predicted despite the overall awful numbers. We wrote here the other day that we were not quite ready to call doomsday on Nokia just yet, and CEO Stephen Elop has maintained that the company was making some bold new products during the course of the year – obviously confident that he is taking the steps that will turn the handset maker around after nearly two full years of losses.

At this point, Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) just might be one of those underdog stories that everyone wants to root for, but in order for this underdog story to be realized, it might have to go big or go home. And by big, we might physically and literally mean it.

Rumors had swirled for a while, but they are intensifying of late that Nokia just might be about to launch a direct competitor to the Samsung Galaxy Note – a “phablet,” or smartphone-tablet hybrid – within the next few months.

Image: Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK)

Essentially, the Galaxy Note has had virtually no direct competition in this space, and so far there has been little indication of anyone wanting to get into the 5- to 7-inch category of mobile device.

This could be an opportunity for Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) to establish itself as a direct competitor to Samsung in a mobile sub-sector, and a chance for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to perhaps move its Windows 8 operating system into a sub-sector where it might have a fighting chance head-to-head against Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and its Android OS.

Talk is that this new Nokia device will “out-muscle” Samsung’s Galaxy Note, though actual specs for the device aren’t known yet – other than the rumor that it could be a 6-inch model, which would make it bigger than the Note. And with talk that Nokia’s massive 41-megapixel PureView camera sensor has been talked about debuting on a Windows-based device sometime this year (it was initially on Nokia’s 808 handset, which ran on Symbian) – and a large smartphone/small tablet just might be the right device on which it could make its appearance.

What do you think? Would you be open to a Windows-based “phablet,” and do you think Windows can stand toe-to-toe with Android, and could Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) design stand up to Samsung in a direct comparison? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.